An obsession with Pleistocene just-so stories

“The discovery of genes as young as agriculture and city-states, rather than as old as cavemen, means ‘we have to rethink to foundational assumptions’ of evo psych, says Miller, starting with the claim that there are human universals and that they are the result of a Stone Age brain. Evolution indeed sculpted the human brain. But it worked in malleable plastic, not stone, bequeathing us flexible minds that can take stock of the world and adapt to it.”

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Comments (2)

  1. Erik R. wrote::

    Fascinating.

    Is that why kids these days have Nintendo-button-shaped thumbs?

    Tuesday, June 30, 2009 at 6:20 pm #
  2. sisiggy wrote::

    He obviously has not met my mother-in-law.

    (delivered in a Henny Youngman voice)

    (…if anyone else remembers Henny Youngman’s voice…)

    Wednesday, July 1, 2009 at 7:38 am #